Why I chose an apprenticeship

Choosing an apprenticeship was an easy decision when one was being offered so close to where I live and in a role that interested me. But working full-time can be very different to the lifestyles my friends lead, who are still in sixth form or college full- time.

I always enjoyed the social aspect of school; getting to see my friends every day and experiencing every awkward teenage second with them. I loved the lessons I chose for my two GCSE years, especially Psychology and Drama which I would’ve taken at A-Level if I had taken that route.

The things that I didn’t like at school were the reasons I decided that further education whilst in employment would be a better choice for me. The reasons all boiled down to wanting to think more independently and do something for myself. The first step for this was applying for the job at Two Rivers Housing which involved a personal statement, CV and then a formal interview process.

In my school year group I was one of two pupils that left formal education to become an apprentice.

I think another reason which made me want to be out of school was the fact that I have always been around people who are slightly older than me and had picked up the same desire to try new things. Things like travelling, earning money and having more independence are all suddenly more attainable if you are in an apprenticeship.

Changing times:

I am coming to the end of my apprenticeship which means finding a new job. This can be a worrying time but I am thinking positively about the new opportunities waiting for me. I would like to stay in a Communications type role.

The skills I have gained at Two Rivers will help me bulk out my CV and make sure I get a new job which is just as fulfilling. I will be getting support for my manager and HR to help me too, if I need it.

One year on

I am now a year into my apprenticeship - where has the time gone?

In fact, I think this has been the quickest year of my life so far and one of the most interesting. I've had some great opportunities to use all the different skills I am gaining.

One of the best parts of my role is helping to plan events for various stakeholders - including staff, tenants and helping charities within our 'Helping Hands' project. I also help to create promotional literature for the events and order merchandise and resources. This is a really fun part of what the Comms team do as you can speak to new people and be creative.

During the event, one member of the Comms team will sometimes go along, taking some photos and finding out what thoughts are on the event so we can write up a press release later on, update social media platforms when we get back to the office and update the website.

Two Rivers have recently branched out into the realms of Instagram and we have been slowly building up followers and updating it along with Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and 24 Dash.

The 'Helping hands' project, which I mentioned briefly above, is a volunteering scheme that encourages all of the members of staff here at Two Rivers to get out into the community for one day a year and gift their time to a charitable cause. I have been very involved in organising events for this project, which continues to be a positive experience.

Four things I've learnt (so far):

Take every chance to learn and grow further

There have been loads of times when I have got involved in side projects to learn more about the business as a whole and not just my specific tasks. It is always a valuable experience to know about other people in your work environment and their skillsets.

Ask questions if you don't understand 

This is something that took me quite a while to learn because I didn't want to be a burden on the team. I realised that I was more of a burden if I couldn't complete something so it is always best to make sure you know everything you need to and complete a task well.

Sleep is more important than ever 

Being young and having a pretty good social life can take its toll, especially in the summer, when a lot of my friends had six weeks of holiday. This has made me realise to keep a good balance between having fun and making sure I am ready for another busy work day. I make sure I have at least eight hours of sleep.

Plan ahead

Using tools such as calendars and to-do lists gives me a visual way of seeing the things I need to achieve within a time frame.

The most I grew at Two Rivers as an employee and in myself was when I took the reigns of the team for two weeks, while my manager was on holiday. There were tasks that were handed to me that I didn't even know went on in the background; simple things like collecting and going through the papers and making sure to check social media every day.

As well as this, other employees approached me for jobs and realised that I was approachable for the same tasks as the rest of the team, it put me on the map, if you will! Liaising directly with more teams has really done me well. The two weeks I spent speaking to new people and making myself get up and speak to people directly instead of emailing was really beneficial to my development.

I now get specific projects directly and staff trust that I will do just as good a job as anyone else in the team. It's also helpful for my manager as she doesn't have to work out my workload for me which is less time consuming for her.

Doing an apprenticeship was a great decision for me. I'm sure it's not for everyone but the freedom, creativity and new opportunities gave me a massive head start in maturity and business understanding.

I am very excited for the future.

Annabelle x

A new project

The apprentices who will be getting involved.

As well as my daily tasks, the apprentices at Two Rivers have got involved in a new project.

We are launching a new initiative for all staff to be involved with over the next year. The plan is to have 12 groups of about 10 people and each month for one day, one of these groups goes out and gets involved with a community project. This will help to support out community values and also be a good way for in-office staff to get out into our communities.

I'm excited to get involved in this and so far there have been some good ideas and productive meetings. You can definitely tell when working here that Two Rivers wants to do loads to help the communities they work within and also help vulnerable people within these places. Customer Service members have some really sad encounters of people who just ring up for a chat because they are so lonely and these people are who are our top priorities. If there are events we can set up to make these people have a happier outlook on life that would be amazing.

We are looking to help local charities and organisations that already have events we can help out with and also hoping to strengthen the services and events we already provide to tenants.

Do you have any local projects that could benefit from our help? 

Please e-mail me if you do at annabelle.price@2rh.org.uk 

Annabelle 

Getting to know Two Rivers

As a new starter in July, I've been busy settling in to my team and learning about all the other areas of the organisation.

The team I work within is the Communications team which is Liz, Charlotte and me. I started by doing small jobs but now I think I am trusted knowing how to do quite a few things and I'm always kept busy.

The course I am doing is with Gloucestershire College and I go to college on Fridays to learn about Marketing, working towards a BTEC Level 3 in Marketing.

At first it is quite daunting trying to work out who everyone was as there are about 130 staff members in office and more that work out of office. Inductions with every team in the building helped to give me an idea of who to talk to if I need information on a certain topic.

I get to talk to a mixture of people from different teams because there are always different things to work on. Also, I will be going to some events to take photos or get information for 'Tenant Topics', our tenant magazine. 

I am looking forward to updating this blog with an exciting project the apprentices are starting work on very soon!

Annabelle